Dern
lends her acting sensibilities once again in “Wild” as she plays
mother to Reese’s Cheryl who adores her to the heavens. In “Wild,”
director Jean-Marc Vallée (“Dallas Buyers Club”) and Academy
Award nominated screenwriter Nick Hornby (“An Education”) bring
bestselling author Cheryl Strayed’s extraordinary adventure to the
screen. After years of reckless behavior, a heroin
addiction and the destruction of her marriage, Strayed makes a rash
decision. Haunted by memories of her mother Bobbi (Laura Dern)
and with absolutely no experience, she sets out to hike more than a
thousand miles on the Pacific Crest Trail all on her own. “Wild”
powerfully reveals her terrors and pleasures --as she forges ahead on
a journey that maddens, strengthens, and ultimately heals her.

While
Cheryl is the core of “Wild,” the film is populated by a diverse
group of characters, both from the life Cheryl has just left behind
and those she meets on the path forward. Among them, the
one person who has impacted Cheryl in the most shattering and
enlivening ways is her mother, Bobbi, whose brief, sudden battle with
cancer sends Cheryl’s existence into a steep nosedive. Taking
the role is Oscar®-nominated and three-time Golden Globe®
Award-winning actress Laura Dern, who recently won a Golden Globe for
HBO’s “Enlightened.” Known for her versatility and
commitment, Dern came up on the radar for Witherspoon early on.

Witherspoon
was stirred by what Dern brought to the role. “Laura
completely transforms herself in every role, and this is no
exception,” says Witherspoon. “She spent so much time trying to
learn about Cheryl's mother. And then I think she tapped into what
makes her such an extraordinary life force, so that you understand
why Cheryl feels like she’ll never be okay again without the love
that her mother gave her. Laura was just incredible at portraying
that ferocity of love.”

“What
a presence. What a voice, what a laugh. Contagious. Even though Laura
has so much experience in front of the camera, it feels like she's
acting for the first time when she hears action. She looks so
excited, so thrilled to do her job, to try something new, something
different, something crazy, something emotional, you name it. Laura
is such a trooper,’ say Vallée. “Not only did we shoot all of
her scenes, but we managed to create new ones to try to give more
presence to Cheryl's mother in the film. Improvised scenes that we
shot on the fly, between sets, during a makeup test, or a break. And
every single one of them is in the film. Thanks to the great Laura
Dern.”

The
more Dern got to know Bobbi, the more she was awestruck by her. “I
think what moved me most is that through all of the challenges of
self-discovery and an abusive marriage and raising children on her
own in poverty, she had no sense of martyrdom,” says the
actress. “There was no victim in her at all. She
felt blessed to be alive and to have the chance to redefine life for
herself and her children, and to find joy in the unknown. And
that is so powerful and inspiring to me as a woman. Just
to get close to her through Cheryl’s memories felt like a great
privilege.”

All
of it was essential to understanding Cheryl, and Jean-Marc was so
creative at coming up with ways to condense Cheryl’s entire
childhood. We were recreating a lifetime of experiences,
and that was a wonderful, exciting kind of challenge,” shares Dern.

“Wild”
opens February 4 in cinemas nationwide from 20th Century
Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.